The man apparently had gotten off route while looking for his dog, Beidler said. The dog had gotten stuck in a tree well, a hole in the snowpack that forms at the base of trees.

The man freed the dog, but by then it was dark and the dog appeared to be in distress, Beidler said. The man triggered his emergency beacon at that point, but rescue crews had to wait for daylight to navigate the rough terrain.

The man and dog were found safe about 2,400 feet up the 5,400-foot peak west of Index in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.